Asian Motorcycle Adventures

What’s So Special, Anyway, About A Golden Triangle Motorcycle Tour?

The absolute best motorcycle riding in Southeast Asia, perhaps even the world, is found in Thailand’s Golden Triangle region. Big statement, yes? But 100% true!
Please read on……

(Note: If you are reading this you must like to read. So I must point out to you that this website is rich in text and contains lots of useful information about motorcycle tours in Asia. We hope everyone takes the time to read through this website thoroughly so that you can choose the correct tour and tour company wisely.

Apologies to those who do not like to read much; In compensation are lots of videos and photos.)

If you think one of life’s greatest pleasures is taking a motorcycle tour into an exotic land on fantastic roads over terrain you truly have to see to believe, then don’t dare miss out on Asian Motorcycle Adventures’ 10‑DAY GOLDEN TRIANGLE MOTORCYCLE TOUR. Here’s why:

Not so long ago the GOLDEN TRIANGLE was considered the most notorious territory on our planet. This is where Thailand, Laos, and Burma meet at a wide bend in the Mekong River. Opium drug lords, rebel armies, and gunrunners operated here with impunity, far from any government’s control.

Today, things are quite the opposite. Law and order rule. All the bad guys have been incarcerated, killed, or fled. The GOLDEN TRIANGLE has reverted back to its sleepy, centuries-old pastoral existence, albeit with more than their fair share of souvenir stands cashing in on a notorious past.

The residue from this legacy is an extensive road system that just might be the finest collection of motorcycle roads found anywhere on earth, both on‑road‑and‑off-it. Here are the reasons why this is so:

Historically, Laos, Burma, and Thailand have not been the friendliest of neighbors. So for its defense, Thailand built a network of major arteries and roads that allows their army, along with all its heavy equipment and weaponry, to move swiftly to any part of their rugged border wherever and whenever potential trouble threatens.

Uncle Sam got into the act by engineering some of the best northern Thai roads in their crusade against drugs. To combat opium poppy production, the remotest cultivating areas in the mountains needed accessing. All these isolated valleys and remote canyons are now linked by roads and trails, and this has produced another series of great motorcycle roads.

We must bless the Buddhist monks for providing us with many of the magical Golden Triangle roads. They have a passion for building their stunning temples on top of the most inaccessible peaks and on the most scenic and serene spots. Access roads were needed to reach these palaces of worship so adherents could come and pay homage to their Lord Buddha. Motorcyclists as well.

Numerous hilltribe settlements did their bit for our motorcycle touring pleasure. Their villages tend to be perched on lofty ridges and mountain tops, and to each and every one leads a road, often only a dirt path best suited for horses, cattle, and, of course, off-road motorcycles. Their agricultural fields are also crisscrossed by dual-and-single-track paths, almost as if they were designed with trail bike riding in mind.

A labyrinth of logging trails snake through this lush landscape. With all commercial logging banned since 1989, these abandoned tracks are ours alone to transport us deep into the interior forests where nature is gradually erasing all signs of man. Just be on the lookout for wild elephants!

But the real icing on this motorcycle touring cake is the geography itself. Northern Thailand is covered by the foothills of the Himalayas, the Mother of all Mountain Ranges. All these Golden Triangle roads cut across, around, up and down a very, very wild topography. A straight line barely exists in these parts, and this makes for unadulterated motorcycle touring pleasure. The general character of this terrain is ever-changing, and this keeps one constantly engaged and concentrating on that piece of road directly in front of one’s eyes because there is just no predicting which way it will veer beyond the next rise.

Since most of these roads start and end in the middle of nowhere, hardly anyone uses them and there are hardly any other road users to contend with. In fact, many roads can best be described as empty. There is also little in the way of traffic enforcement, so you can drive your motorcycle as hard and as fast as the road conditions and your skill level allow.

But as good as the motorcycle riding is, it is the off-bike activities that give this tour equal competition. And this is our big dilemma, because the 10‑DAY GOLDEN TRIANGLE MOTORCYCLE TOUR brings our bikes to places far off the tourist trail where you will be seeing and doing fabulous things. Few of our stops are even mentioned in the most comprehensive guidebooks. A participant will actually enjoy this 10-DAY GOLDEN TRIANGLE MOTORCYCLE TOUR most fully when the time spent in the saddle is kept to a minimum. But how can this be? On a motorcycle tour? You just have to ride with us to understand the validity of this statement.

Despite this, there is still a ton of riding. Cumulative riding length of this 10-DAY GOLDEN TRIANGLE MOTORCYCLE TOUR is approximately 2,000+ kilometers/1,250+ miles (depending upon how many optional side trips we have the time and energy to take).

The fabulous Rawee Waree Resort.

Instead of one rest day on this tour, now there are two. The second rest day was added specifically so we can spend an extra day and night in the fabulous 5-star Sib-San Resort and Spa — it is just too special a place to spend a single night. (View slideshow above.)

You may choose to luxuriate on this extra rest day, make use of their spa or gym, or you can partake in some of the optional activities available in the Mae Taman valley, such as: whitewater rafting, a zip line through the jungle canopy, ATV vehicles, elephant rides through the countryside, nature walks, jogging trails, bamboo rafting, and oxcart rides.

But some riders just can’t stand the thought of sitting out a single day on a motorcycle tour. To those people we say: do not fret! Because there is truly fantastic trail riding just beyond the hotel grounds that you can explore at your leisure, and then you return to the luxuriousness of the Sib-San Resort and Spa for some serious R&R.

This 10-DAY GOLDEN TRIANGLE MOTORCYCLE TOUR is a luxury tour. No expense is spared to make you as comfortable and engaged as possible. All of our hotel accommodations are the finest in each area, and if ever a finer lodging facility does become available, we switch in an instant.

For the entire tour everyone gets their own room. Meals are a gourmet’s delight. A support truck driven by our mechanic and our local expert in all things Thai carries all your luggage so you travel light and unencumbered on your motorcycle. A cooler sits in the back of the support truck filled with liquid refreshments and served to you whenever we stop. Your hotel room the night before the tour starts, as well as the night of our return to Chiang Mai, is also included in this tour package.

All meals are provided except for lunches on rest days. All entrance fees are covered. Full use of our motorcycles for the tour and all petrol as well is part of the tour package. Basically, the only things not included in your tour package are alcoholic beverages, optional recreational activities and lunches on rest days, items of a personal nature (such as laundry, massage, etc.), and visa fees. This is part of the reason why our motorcycle tours are more expensive than other touring companies operating in this region.

ASIAN MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURES does not compete on price. We compete on quality and service: and here we have no competition.

This 10-DAY GOLDEN TRIANGLE MOTORCYCLE TOUR is primarily a SEALED ROAD tour. There could be some dirt road riding included, but this will depend upon the make-up and ability of each individual group. If you are putting together your own private group tour, then of course we will give you any type of riding you want—and then some.

( NOTE ABOUT OFF-ROAD RIDING): We do offer a variety of off-road tours if this is what you are interested in. You should visit our off-road touring section to learn about these offerings.

This 10-DAY GOLDEN TRIANGLE MOTORCYCLE TOUR is a group tour. We try to limit group size to 6 participants, but occasionally go over this if there are extenuating circumstances. Average tour size is four to five.

With a small group size we can give everyone the personalized attention and the immersive cultural experience they signed up for.

Participants for any of our GOLDEN TRIANGLE MOTORCYCLE TOURS should have medium-to-advanced [tooltips text=”Our tours are not for novice riders.

North Thailand roads, and northern S.E. Asia in general, are mountainous and steep and the roads have a high degree of technical difficulty. We recommend at least one year of big bike riding experience under your belt before signing up for one of our tours.”]riding skills[/tooltips]. Beginning riders can be intimidated by the steepness of the terrain and the frequency and tightness of many of the curves.

This 10-DAY GOLDEN TRIANGLE MOTORCYCLE TOUR is by far our most popular motorcycle tour package. 1st-time motorcyclists to Asia should strongly consider coming on this tour before choosing one of our other touring destinations.

We request participant’s, especially from North or South America, to arrive in Asia a couple of days early so they can shake off the effects of jet lag, a debilitating malady that no one is immune to—it usually takes three or four days to fully adjust to the new time zone.

Some of our participants choose to recuperate from their flight in BANGKOK before flying up to Chiang Mai. This is a good idea because by the completion of your tour you will become very familiar with the north of Thailand.
If you plan on arriving early in Asia, ASIAN MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURES has a special room-rate deal with Bangkok’s 5-star Shangri-La Hotel. Send us an email for details.

If you have a lot of spare time before or after your tour, you might want to head south and take in some of Thailand’s fantastic beach areas.

While you are adjusting to your new time zone, there are lots of things to do before your tour starts, as tourism is one of Thailand’s most important industries. Shopping is top notch, with a wide range of antiques, furniture, home accessories, quality native handicrafts, and textiles. Thai food is justly famous, and Northern Thai cuisine is distinct from the rest of the country and equally delicious. There is also all the nightlife you can handle, plus some, if this is to your liking.

Starting and ending point for all of our GOLDEN TRIANGLE MOTORCYCLE TOUR is CHIANG MAI. This is Thailand’s second-largest city but with a small town feel to it. CHIANG MAI AIRPORT has frequent connections from all over, so getting here is easy.

A participant’s meeting is scheduled in the early afternoon the day before departure, so please make sure to arrive in Chiang Mai no later than mid-day. Food and drinks will be served at this meeting. We will go over the itinerary, and discuss in detail how to handle the roads, road conditions, and driving styles of the Thai road users, along with lots of other information pertinent to your safety and well-being.

The number #1 goal is to deliver you back to Chiang Mai in the same physical condition you left in, albeit with an added kilo or two of weight (the food is that good).